Hurt
by Dawn Destiny
Summary: A brief story about Snow months after the events at the end of the game.


**A/N: An idea that came to me when was daydreaming. The name came from Christina Aguilera's song 'Hurt'. It wasn't what I originally expected it to be, but for now it is satisfactory. Snow doesn't get enough love... Anyways, since technically the timeline should have been destroyed/corrupted when Caius died, I figured things would kind of all end up in one space. A place with no sense of time or location. That's my explanation for mixing anything together.**

"_Goodbye… Snow."_

"_Wait! Serah, wait!" the man shouted at her retreating figure. She turned to look at him, a sad smile barely gracing her lips. Her beautiful features were torn between emotions. She turned and began to walk again._

"_Serah!"_

"_Goodbye…"_

He jolted up from his sleep in a cold sweat, the whispered word ringing in his ears as he ran a hand through his hair, looking at the vacant spot on the bed next to him. It had been a few months since it had happened. Since the world had come to a screeching halt. Since his life had fallen apart. He touched her pillow softly, wishing to feel warmth that meant she had only stepped out for a moment, instead feeling the cool silk beneath his fingers. Then he spotted it, a single pink strand of hair lying there on the pillow beside his. He held it carefully between his fingers, examining it. Was this really all that was left of his beloved? A single strand of hair left abandoned on a pillow?

"I was a fool Serah; I know that now… I'm sorry. I just wanted to be the one to make you smile, but I left you for so long… I'm so sorry," Snow whispered into the darkness of his empty room.

No longer would she wait for him, always ready to light up the room with a sweet smile, no longer would he be able to hold her in his arms as he once had, no longer would he be able to love her again. She was gone, for real this time. There was no journey he could go on to get her back. How was it possible? The last time he'd seen her she was smiling and now… Now that smile was gone forever. He shouldn't have left. Every moment was precious; they would have married eventually, Lightning be damned. There was just so much regret weighing down his heart… How could he live with it? And yet, he did.

He got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. Upon looking in the mirror Snow felt anger build up inside. Seeing himself, a failed hero, a man who failed to save those he loved, created hatred like none he'd ever felt before. He stared for a moment, feeling his rage swirl through his system until it exploded outwards. He punched the mirror, shattering the glass and slicing his hand deeply in several places. Then he stood there in silence, staring at the destroyed remains of the mirror as blood dripped onto the floor. His distorted reflection stared back, a broken shadow of what had once been.

After hearing the loud noise, a few members of NORA bolted to find the man that had once been their fearless leader. Lebreau reached him first, stopping in shock as she took in his appearance. His shoulders were slumped in defeat, blood flowing freely from a few wounds on his hand.

"S-Snow? Are you alri-,"

She couldn't even finish her question as he turned his face to meet her gaze. His eyes were tortured with the look of a man that had gone to Hell and back and still managed to lose everything. What could she possibly say to comfort him after his heart, and the one who held it, had been taken so unfairly? So, in silence, she cleaned the wounds out and wrapped his hand, letting other teammates clean up the broken glass before she left. His walls had been up for months, and he showed no sign of bringing them down for anyone.

Later, during the day Snow sat in a chair in complete silence. He didn't speak to anyone, instead just sitting there, unresponsive. That is, until a certain someone came knocking on his door. They let themselves in and Snow's eyes widened in response.

"Noel?"

The brunette nodded, his eyes dark as he took in the sight of what the once strong man had become. The heavy burden of guilt weighed down on Noel's heart even more.

"Snow… I'm so-,"

Snow held up a hand. "I know what happened kid; you couldn't have done anything… Looks like you were right about me though. I'm no hero after all."

"Don't say that. There's a reason she called you _her _hero," Noel said, sitting across from the older man.

The two sat in silence for a while, neither one sure of what to say. Eventually Snow spoke up.

"I guess we have a lot more in common than either of us thought."

Noel nodded, then lowered his gaze to the ground. "Snow… Why did you leave her, even when you found each other again?"

For a moment Snow seemed hesitant to answer, as though he didn't want to reveal his reasoning. An internal war was being waged within him. "I saw her die… I thought I could stop it, that maybe it was just something that could be fixed if I worked hard enough…"

Noel's eyes met his sharply, something strange burning behind them. Some distant familiarity connected the emotions of the two men. Snow ran a hand tiredly through his hair, his eyes distant.

"You're right," Noel said, standing up.

"About what?"

"We have a lot more in common than I thought."

Noel left the house, not sure of where he would go next. What was there left? He stood on the porch, trying to think of his next move. Inside the house Snow mulled over the kid's words. With sudden realization he stood suddenly and rushed after Noel. He was surprised to see that the kid had only made it to the edge of the porch, but approached him regardless. Snow clapped him on the shoulder and Noel looked at him in surprise.

"You were right too. There's a reason she called me a hero, and it damn well wasn't so I could waste the rest of my life while the world went to Hell. What do you think kid?"

Noel stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded. The man was resilient if nothing else… Of course, so was he. The brunette smiled grimly and nodded. The world definitely was in need of a few heroes, and he supposed they'd just have to do.

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**A/N: So there it is. Not the ending I thought it'd be when I started... Apparently I have Noel on the brain, because he just popped in out of nowhere. Oh, and Noel is immortal now. I realized that recently and it made me a little sad. Regardless, Snow is a resilient guy, and I think losing Serah would tear him apart from the inside out, but he'd still find a way to help people because that's what she would want. I want to write a few different versions of how Snow and Serah met because they're adorable. Please shoot me a review.**


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